England 1819 by Percy Shelly about social issues

Social issues

1. England in 1819 BY  PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

2. Opening question Do you think, in the history, a war was necessary to make their future?

3. Common social issues Political Dynasty Refers to traditional political families or the practices by these political families of monopolizing political power and public offices from generation to generation and treating the public elective office almost as their property.

4. Common social issues Extrajudicial killing Is the killing of a person by governmental authorities or individuals without the sanction of any judicial proceeding or legal process.

5. Common social issues Poverty Is a state or condition in which a person or community lacks financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living.

6. Common social issues Social injustice refers to wrongful actions against individuals within society. This occurs when the unequal get treated equally while equals get treated unequally.

7. Common social issues Discrimination Is the unfair or prejudicial treatment of people and groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, age or sexual orientation.

8. Vocabulary Dregs- the most useless part Dull race- inactive legacy Public scorn= contempt of the public Leechlike- similar to leech liberticide – killing liberty, suppressing freedom Prey – a victim of oppression sanguine- bloody Statute unrepealed- unreformed law by an official ruling body Phantom- spirit Burst- emerge Tempestuous- violent

9. About the Author Facts about life: Moved away from England t 19 to get married ( 16 year old Harriet) Unhappy with his marriage, Shelly would leave his wife and child to visit friends. Fell inlove with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, women rights activist. Abandoned his pregnant wife and child to run away with Mary. They had only been married three years. Shelly tried to gain custody of his children, whose mother had killed herself. He lost and they were given to foster parents.

10. About the Author Facts about life: Born on August 4, 1792, at Field Place, near Horsham, England. Bullied all through school and university Led to his obsession with reading, rumored to be 16 hours a day Was expelled from school because of a poem he wrote

11. About the Author A tragic end: In 1822, shelly had a friend went sailing off the northwest coast of Italy. A storm caught them by surprise, capsized the boat, and both men drowned, Shelly was only 30 years old.

12. About the Author Messages of his poetry Idealism Nonconformity Opposition to all injustice Change the world through love, imagination, and poetry Too radical for most romantics Vegetarianism

13. England in 1819 Poem Background The society of England in 1819 was experiencing a time of turmoil. Different political parties were fighting against each other. The ruler of the country weren’t doing anything for the society. People were injured and killed during the Massacre. There was a big disaster that happened in England in August of 1819. the poem is in a sarcastic, critical mood. This poem is not written in a serious way, although it was shocking moment for the country. It was very hard time for England and many people suffered for no reason. Many innocent people have died.

14. England in 1819 An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying King;  Princes, the dregs of their dull race, who flow  Through public scorn,—mud from a muddy spring;  Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know,  But leechlike to their fainting country cling  Till they drop, blind in blood, without a blow.  A people starved and stabbed in th' untilled field;  An army, whom liberticide and prey  Makes as a two-edged sword to all who wield;  Golden and sanguine laws which tempt and slay;  Religion Christless, Godless—a book sealed;  A senate, Time’s worst statute, unrepealed—  Are graves from which a glorious Phantom may  Burst, to illumine our tempestuous day.

15. The king is dying, old, blind, insane, and despised. An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying King; 

16. His sons are objects of public scorn. His ministers run the country for their own selfish interests. Princes, the dregs of their dull race, who flow  Through public scorn

17. The people are hungry and oppressed . Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know,  But leechlike to their fainting country cling 

18. The army is used to destroy liberty and to collect booty. The law is manipulated to protect the rich and enchain the poor. Till they drop, blind in blood, without a blow.  A people starved and stabbed in th ' untilled field;  An army, whom liberticide and prey  Makes as a two-edged sword to all who wield;  Golden and sanguine laws which tempt and slay; 

19. . Religion is in a state of apathy. Parliament denies Roman Catholics their civil rights. Religion Christless , Godless—a book sealed;  A senate, Time’s worst statute, unrepealed—  

20. But out of this unhappy state of affairs may come a revolution that will right all wrongs. Are graves from which a glorious Phantom may  Burst, to illumine our tempestuous day.

21. Background "Sonnet: England in 1819" is one of Shelley's most vigorous political statements. The language is unusually vivid and emphatic and shows how deeply Shelley's feelings were involved. The sonnet is probably the best of a group of political poems written by Shelley in 1819 which were inspired by Shelley's indignation in regard to the condition of England at that time. None of them were printed in 1819 because of publishers' fears of the strict libel laws. Any publisher who would print "Sonnet: England in 1819" ran the risk of being jailed or fined or both.

22. King George The king Shelley refers to in his poem is George III. In 1819, he was eighty-one years old, insane, blind, and deaf. He died the following year and was succeeded by George IV, the oldest of George III's dissolute sons, "mud from a muddy spring." His separation from his wife, Princess Caroline of Brunswick, after a year of marriage caused a public scandal, and his numerous affairs injured his reputation. English liberals, such as Shelley and Byron, regarded him with profound scorn both as prince regent (1811-20) and as king (1820-30). His cabinet ministers were arch-conservatives.

23. Revolution The "rulers who neither see, nor feel, nor know" are Lord Liverpool and his conservative cabinet. In calling them leeches who are bleeding their country, Shelley is indulging in hyperbole. They were men of integrity who happened to be in power at a time of general unrest caused by the unemployment and hunger that followed the end of the Napoleonic wars. There was rioting, some destruction of property, inevitable arrests and repressive measures. The cabinet suspended the Habeas Corpus act and passed laws severely limiting public gatherings. Shelley was convinced that revolution was going to break out in England, "a glorious Phantom" that would "illumine our tempestuous day."

24. St. Peter's Field in Manchester The line "a people starved and stabbed in the untilled field" may be an allusion to the Peterloo massacre. On August 16, 1819, a large number of people in favour of parliamentary reform had gathered in St. Peter's Field in Manchester to hear a speech by Henry Hunt, a reformer. When troops made an attempt to arrest Hunt, a panic ensued in which eleven people were killed and four hundred were injured.

25. two-edged sword The army, "which liberticide and prey / Makes as a two-edged sword to all who wield" it, seems to be a reference to the use of troops by the government to quell disturbances and repress liberty. "Golden and sanguine laws which tempt and slay" are laws that vested interests caused to be passed and which led to bloodshed. "Religion Christless , Godless" refers to the torpid state of the Anglican Church, from which it was aroused by the Oxford Movement in 1833. "Time's worst statute" refers to the restrictions under which English Roman Catholics were forced to live. They were not allowed to vote or sit in Parliament, preside over law courts, or enter the universities.

26. "Catholic emancipation" "Catholic emancipation" had been a lively political issue for several years, and not until 1829 did Catholics recover most of their civil liberties.

27. Additional Stuff Rhyme scheme ABABABCDCDCCDD Upside-down form of the classic Petrarchan sonnet form Iambic Pentameter Untraditional sonnet form represents the disorder of England at the time